Desi Daru Vodka are delighted to announce that Carlos Garcia Picon from Bar Antoine at the Four Seasons Park Lane has been crowned their 2025 Culture Colliders Champion in their cocktail competition, now in its second year.
Carlos Garcia Picon beat nine other finalists at The Churchill Bar & Terrace in London on Monday 17th November with his cocktail ‘Unrooted Routes’. Runners- up included Stephen Bond from Habibi in Leeds with his cocktail ‘Dinner Plans and Spice Racks’ securing 2nd place, and Chloe Southam from The Royal Cocktail Exchange with ‘Golden Mile Glow’ securing 3rd place.
Carlos, along with the other finalists, were challenged to create a cocktail using one traditionally Indian ingredient and one ingredient inspired by their hometown, reflecting the brand founders own dual heritage. Carlos’ cocktail ‘Unrooted Routes’ comprised of Desi Daru Mango Vodka and a homemade English Hops-infused vermouth, topped with a Sparkling Chai Masato representing an Indian-Colombian ingredient. This was then topped with a Yin- Yang jelly of mango rice,
Drawing on his own journey across continents, Carlos crafted Unrooted Routes as a reflection of his life lived between cultures. Born in Colombia, raised in Spain,
and now calling London home, he set out to capture the harmony found in blending traditions that appear worlds apart, much like Yin and Yang.
At its heart sat Desi Daru Mango Vodka, representing the shared love of mangoes in both India and Colombia, a symbol of joy, warmth and celebration. Here their juicy sweetness (Yang) meets the clean crisp base of vodka (Yin). The vermouth infused with English hops added a bitter herbal note, a grounding Yin that balances the tropical brightness, whilst its layers of botanicals echo the spicy warmth of Indian chai, a little Yang heat peeking through. He then layered in Sparkling Chai Masato, inspired by a Colombian indigenous fermented rice drink elevated with Indian chai spices.
As the Culture Colliders Champion 2025, Carlos received £2,500 cash prize, a Michelin star meal for two, a trip to the distillery where Desi Daru produce their award-winning vodkas and the Culture Colliders trophy. Second place and third place won £500 cash and £250 cash respectively, as well as a distillery trip and Michelin-star meal for two.
After his win, Carlos shared: “The Culture Colliders 2025 was an incredible experience for me in an ever changing competition culture. The quality within this competition was truly outstanding and I felt honoured to be a part of a competition that promotes cultural diversity within the bartending world and they celebrate that culture together. After living in 3 different countries (Colombia, Spain and UK) it was great to finally be able to showcase my influences as well as learn about other people’s cultures, influence and stories. I feel so honoured to win among such an amazing palette of talented fellow finalists and their amazing creations. I really look forward to visiting the distillery to learn all insights of the best flavoured vodka in the world, Desi Daru Mango Vodka.”
The judging panel included Aneet Kaur, co-founder of Desi Daru, Melita Kiely, editor of The Spirits Business, Vitor Sousa, Culture Collider Champion 2024 and assistant bar manager at the Churchill Bar & Terrace, and Sukhinder Singh, co- founder of Speciality Drinks and The Whisky Exchange, and founder of Elixir Distillers.
Mohit Singh, the brand’s co-founder along with his wife Aneet shared: “This was a really special day, and the judges scores were very tight, but Carlos’ creativity, storytelling and presentation really stood out. It was so heartwarming to hear people’s stories of their hometowns and how this translated into their cocktail.
The bartending community is such a melting pot of cultures and it’s incredible to see this reflected in incredible mixology. The energy in the room was fantastic and it’s great to see people connect. We really appreciate all the energy and time that all of our finalists put into the competition, and we look forward to returning for 2026.”
Finalists also included Alessandro Todini from “mu” restaurant presenting HEERA, Alexandra Gomori Carrillo from SAMBA ROOM presenting Empire of the Sun, Alice Ford from Nine Lives presenting Past & Present, Milo Cooper from The Domino Club presenting Hometown Glory, Petru Ivan from Nightjar Shoreditch presenting Concoction of Cultures, Piyush Gouchwal from The Cinnamon Collection presenting Desi Paradise and Subash Rai from Melting Pot presenting SWA-UDAY (The Rise of Self).
Culture Colliders will be returning in 2026.
F: officialdesidaru / I: @ officialdesidaru Please drink Desi Daru responsibly.
